The Daily Zeitgeist - MJGMB #72: Steph Curry Underrated Doc with Kenny DeForest

Episode Date: August 3, 2023

Jack and Producer Jabari (in for Miles) were pleased to be joined by comedian Kenny DeForest on today’s episode. The trio discussed the new documentary "Steph Curry: Underrated" and marveled over Curry’s prolonged excellence and plenty more!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Trust us, it's out of this world. Do you ever wonder where your favorite foods come from? Like what's the history behind bacon-wrapped hot dogs? Hi, I'm Eva Longoria. It's out of this world. your cocktail is margarita followed by the mojito from cuba and the piña colada from puerto rico listen to hungry for history on the iheart radio app apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts well well well it's my turn to say well well well we're back at it again baby miles is out so i'm thrilled to be joined by Super Producer Jabari. And we're talking about the Steph Curry documentary,

Underrated. We are talking top five starting lineups and more with comedian, long overdue guest of this podcast. One of the first people we mentioned, we said, we're doing a basketball podcast. We need to have Kenny DeForest on Miles and Jack. I'm at Boosies. And we got him today, folks. And Miles is ducking him. I'm Matt Boosties. And we got him today, folks.

And Miles is ducking him. I'm Jack O'Brien. And I'm Jabari in for Miles. And this is Miles and Jack. And Jabari. Occasionally Jabari. You got Matt Boosties. Three on one.

Davis. Rob. LeBron. There you go. And B, driving, spinning, fading, hitting. Curry, a three-pointer. Kenny DeForest what's good man dude it's such. First of all, I am very proud to be a person that when you start an NBA podcast, I'm one of the first people you think of. So that makes me feel real good right here in the heart. Yeah.

And let's not know. Just because I'm on the show doesn't mean we've got to play one-on-one. Don't be scared, bro. I'm not asking you to meet me on the court. Yeah. It's just implied by your presence and all the kind of shots that you're meet me on the court. It's just implied by your presence and all the kind of shots that you're putting up in the background

while we're having the conversation. He's got a pretty J, folks. Yeah, but I remember you would come on TDZ, we'd talk about the news, then we'd break for a commercial, then we'd talk about hoops during the part that wasn't being recorded,

then we'd come back and talk about the news and so yeah very early on we were like this we need to have this man on to talk hoops uh you are a bulls fan uh i'm a bulls situational bulls fan or always no i want to be very very clear i was there for the ron mercer era okay you know i was excited when we traded for John Salmon. So like, you know, when we took Tyrus Thomas, I was like, let's go. Let's go. The Thomas era has begun. Let's go.

Athletic upside over skill. Let the Blazers have LaMarcus Aldridge. I was just going to say, you didn't want LaMarcus? You were all about the Tyrus train? No, I wanted LaMarcus. I was so upset. I was deeply upset. And, you know, I LaMarcus? You were all about the Tyrus train? No, I wanted LaMarcus. I was so upset. I was deeply upset. And, you know, I don't know if we want to launch into this already,

but thinking about LaMarcus Aldridge and Derrick Rose in this prime just makes me want to cry myself to sleep. Because that's exactly what we needed. That's what we tried to get with Carlos Boozer, but we could have had it from the beginning. If you go back through, like, pretty much any draft, there's always that, but the ones that sting the most are your own squad.

I understand that. By the way, John Salmon's fantasy basketball stud for like a season and a half. I wanted him at that time on the Lakers. So I'm happy for you that you got to experience that. The Orlando Magic do that to guys. You know, you're like a role player somewhere else.

You go to the Magic. You suddenly average 18 a game. And all of a sudden evan fournier is getting 16 million a year and no one knows why because he went to the magic yeah that's that should be a category we talk about on the podcast is just like all-time uh great fantasy players whose names most people don't know what what stats was salmons filling up we're not calling them salmons i think it was actually salmons or at least i was calling him that so maybe it maybe it wasn't but he did it was because he did a little bit of everything and he got steals and you know you know rebounds for his position yeah we could talk more about your fandom as we go but really everyone is playing

for second place in our hearts after watching underrated the Stefan Curry documentary. Stephen Curry, Steph Curry. There was a good moment where a high school announcer introduces him as Stephen Curry and his mom is like, you bozo. It's Steph Curry. But this is a triumph. curry um but this this is a triumph the autobiographical documentary is is always going to pull at your heartstrings it's a very effective weapon but man it got me how about you guys yeah man i mean for one it always hurts because i always use being too small and slow as my excuse for not being in the NBA.

And then you see that it's like, maybe I should have just like shot a thousand jump shots a day and I would have found my way. Yeah. You know, I mean, it's unreal. He was a child, a child.

So this is the thing that struck me the most from the documentary is I was asking myself, did they digitally shrink him for all of the like old footage from college and a high school, like in high school, you usually you'll see an NBA player who's like, you know, a point guard or something.

And then you see them back in high school and they still look big compared to everyone else because they're playing in high school. But he looked teeny out there in high school he looked when he comes out in the big t-shirt like for his first college uh like midnight madness at college and they're introducing him like you were like who let this child onto the practice floor this like because he's also it was at a time when all clothes were oversized. So he just looks like a kid who put on his dad's workout stuff. But man, he looks small, even his early Warriors days.

I was like, did he hit a growth spurt mid-career in the NBA? That is my first and biggest question from the documentary. He's 6'2". Like that, that is my first and biggest question from the documentary is like, he, he's six, two, like six, two is not a small person. Like miles is six to the first thing I noticed about him when I hang out with him again for the first time in a while is like miles is tall. Miles is a tall person. Um, it's like an optical illusion because he's not small anymore. Like he doesn't strike me as small anymore.

When I see him play, he just seems like a normal sized NBA guard. And I'm wondering, like, is it because he's grown so much in my estimation and I've seen him like just do so much on the court that I'm like, no, he's, he's not small. He's like one of the best players in the league. Um, is it, is it hair? Did he put his hair? Like, is his hair giving him an extra inch? Is it that his body filled out?

I can't really tell what it is. Or did they digitally shrink him? I mean, there may be a little bit of that. But honestly, I think you hit it on the head. It's more of his body filling out. Because it's one thing to be 6'2", walking amongst giants, or under 6'2",

or whatever the case may be, walking amongst giants. But to the point that you made, his shoulders are like 12 inches apart. You know what I mean? Like not just when he was in college, that rookie year with Golden State, he's just a small framed guy. So to see where he is now, you know, it's still inspiring. He's still a small guy out there, but he's significantly larger than he was,

you know, early on. You know what blows my mind about his game? I was noticing this. I mean, I've been noticing it, but this last playoffs, there was a couple of times. The way he's become one of the best finishers around the basket. We know him for he's probably the greatest shooter to ever play the game but being that small coming in it was like well there's no way he'll ever finish around the hoop in the nba there's no way and now i think of him as one of the best finishers in the league and that's just a testament to how much and it's weird he's been able to put on strength without a ton

of bulk like he looks bigger but it's not like he's got those like bowling ball arms you know what i'm saying he doesn't have like that charade collins build right whatever you know it's like he's still very thin but it's just like he put on muscle in the exact right ways where it didn't affect his touch and i think honestly probably having an nba father who was also kind of an under a skinny shooter probably helped him because he, you know, having a dad, it's like, listen, listen to the nutritionists, do what they tell you. It will work. That's got to help. I'm sure a lot of guys coming in don't want to hear it. They don't want to eat super healthy. You know, as crazy as it is, I had forgotten about his ankle issue and I'm sure we were going to get to it. But when that part came up in the documentary, I was like, oh yeah, on top of being small,

on top of being slight of a build, he also had ankle issues. His first like three seasons in the league that would sideline them. And they showed him like twist his ankle and like hobble off the court like six times in a row, which I remember that was what I knew him as when he first came in. Like, obviously I remembered his run in the NCAA tournament, but I was like, and then like his ankles just gave out like what he, he was like one of those like Brandon Roy type people.

It was just like, yeah, I don't know. His body's just not built for the grind. But like Kenny, do you, to your point about finishing around the rim? Like I didn't even want him going to the basket in the footage from like

Davidson. Like he couldn't finish around him going to the basket in the footage from like davidson like he couldn't finish around the rim at the college level his first game in college he had 12 was that right 12 13 i think 13 turnovers like he throughout his career he just like builds from a point of looking like a child who does not belong there. It's really one of the wildest things I've ever seen. When I was a kid, I wrote an autobiography of Mark Jackson because he was my favorite NBA player when I was

seven years old. And I gave it to him. And the whole story was all about how he was so small growing up. And everybody said he was too tiny to play basketball because i just like made it up because i had only seen him next to like patrick ewing and stuff and he was like actually i was like normal size like i was pretty normal sized person maybe like a

little bit above average height um and but like that that is going to be the case almost every time. The fact that this dude was so little every time he entered a new level and so unprepared and ended up being one of the best players in the league and somebody who completely changed how we think about the game. The Virginia Tech story is so wild. He wanted to play for Virginia Tech.

That's where his parents went. Like colleges love to let legacy admissions in. They love that. They wouldn't give him a spot on the team. His dad's jersey's in the rafters. His dad's jersey's in the rafters. And they were like, no, thank you, sir. We've witnessed your game and

like no it's it's not happening like that's how much he changed because it's like all you can do is shoot and it's like yeah that's that's kind of important though pretty good scale think about it pretty good well and it's like the other crazy part when you add in not only was he so small but he wasn't particularly quick. That's the other thing. Like the fact that that's a big part of his scouting report too. I kind of understand teams being hesitant because it's like, all right, you can be small, but you better be Allen Iverson quick. You better be like breaking dudes off.

They can't stay with you. When you're running off screens, the guy is just exhausted. He can't keep up. But none of that was true when he was younger and now i think of him as quick but you know like that's like the first thing is reggie miller reading his scouting report and you're like yeah he wasn't even considered quick like that's mind-blowing yeah um but in general i will say this this kind of blows my mind i feel like decision makers and shot callers, be it college or NBA, there's like a tendency to not want to overweight this guy as the son of a guy who's done this.

Yeah. Sometimes they overthink it and underweight it. Because it's like, to use the NFL as an example, TJ Watt, when he was coming out in the draft, everyone in the Watt family is like, he's the best one. And JJ Watt's like an all-league defensive player. He was maybe the best player in the NFL at the time. Everyone in the family is like, TJ's the guy. And he still goes 23rd in the first round.

And I'm sitting there going, what is everyone doing? And now, of course, he's an all-pro pass rusher. It's like, I know you don't want to overthink it, but the DNA matters. And, you know, you've got the DNA and you've had a coach your whole life. A guy who was known for being a great shooter is your father and your shooting coach.

It's like, come on, take a chance on the kid. I bet he'll figure it out. And it's one thing if, like, the guy has a bet he'll figure it out yeah it's one it's one thing if like the guy has a reputation for being a jerk or like you know difficult to deal with by all accounts steph was awesome by all accounts he was like incredibly respectful he grew up around the league look i i'm with you uh kenny in terms of understanding why there may have been some hesitance but i will always say minnesota, you pick two. You pick two point guards in that same draft.

I don't care. And I don't mean that as, I don't want to be disparaging you, but Johnny Flynn, come on. And Ricky Rubio, like, hey, all respect. He's had a great career. Well, come on, man.

You had the opportunity twice and you said that. You had two picks and you didn't go with one flyer on the person who ended up changing the league. Let's take a quick break. We'll come back.

We're going to keep talking about this documentary and other stuff. All right, here we go. It's Cam Jordan from the New Orleans Saints. Here to tell you it's going down. On season two of my podcast, Off the Edge with me, Cam Jordan. Can't stop it. You know what's going to happen. Can't stop it. You know what's going to happen. Can't stop it.

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Join me and the rest of the crew every Wednesday for a new episode. Listen to the Fantasy Footballers Dynasty Podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. It was December 2019 when the story blew up. In Green Bay, Wisconsin, former Packers star Kabir Bajabiamila caught up in a bizarre situation. KGB explaining what he believes led to the arrest of his friends at a children's Christmas play. led to the arrest of his friends at a children's Christmas play. A family man, former NFL player, devout Christian, now cut off from his family and connected to a strange arrest. I am going to share my journey of how I went from Christianity to now a Hebrew Israelite. I got swept up in Kabir's journey, but this was only the beginning in a story about faith and football, the search for meaning away from the gridiron and the consequences for everyone involved. You mix homesteading with guns and church and a little bit of the spice of conspiracy theories that we liked.

Voila! You got straight away. I felt like I was living in North Korea, but worse, if that's possible. Listen to Spiraled on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And we're back. And just going to the point you made, Kenny, about him having a great shooter as a dad, you get to see him go from shooting like the way going into high school. I think it is his dad's like, he shoots from his waist. Like he,

he releases from his belly button and you see a shot. And that's actually always been a thing that I've thought about with his shot is that it's much, it's a much lower release than you traditionally are told. Like you can get away with in high level basketball and it's it it looks more like a kid's shot than you know the the shots that you've traditionally seen that are like up over the hairline you know but it's i don't know i i had that moment in i think it was middle school i want my dad like, all right, you got to get your shot off of your

chest and up above your headline. And I never made that leap, folks. Both my shots, by the way, were ugly as hell. It was never going to happen. But man, that was such a...

Did you guys ever have that where you had to make that conscious decision to change your shot to be a higher release? Jack, I was 5'10 trying to play against real players. So yes, I absolutely had to do that. And to your point, his shot looks like the shot of a small guy that had to figure it out. So it's kind of like a fling. Far be it for me to criticize, but it absolutely is a bit of a fling even to this day. Yeah, I had to play down low a lot.

I was only 6'2 in high school and I grew two inches in college. I'm 6'4 now, but I studied Dirk. Like I, if I was like, if I'm going to be in the post, it's got to be straight up. I had like a different shot in the post than on the perimeter. But by the end, I was right at the eyebrow push. Yeah. But it took, it took a lot, man. It took a lot to get there. Cause yeah, I was, I was like a heaver when I was young. Yeah. Yeah. From the hip. Yeah, man. And also real quick,

just to your point about Virginia tech, not wanting them. I was watching that and I honestly think though, that's probably the biggest blessing that could have happened to him is to go to a smaller school to gain his confidence because dude if you go in that small to like that to the acc i mean i don't even know if he makes it through his freshman year you know like you kind of it's kind of good he has some leash to grow like i i played with a kid that was an incredible ball player incredible high school player and went big time d1 and it was it was too much it was like a lot you know and then he transferred mid-major and had a good career but i always wonder like you always want to go as big as you can but then sometimes it's not a bad thing to go smaller you have a little more leash you

have a little more room to grow the competition's not pushing you around as much you can gain your confidence you know piggybacking on that and jack to your point imagine he has 13 turnovers in his first game in the acc now i'm not saying they would have benched him but he might not have you know it might not have looked quite as he might not have put 32 up in that very next game yeah it helps it helps your case and it helps your coach have confidence in you when the next option isn't is not like near the same level as you you know um i don't know just stray thoughts first of all i think we can now retire the uh this trope from documentaries you're shooting an empty chair the The person walks up. You see them from behind sit down

for an interview. Take the iPad from you. And they say, alright, you want to start? That's how this opens. It's Reggie Miller who's doing the sitting down. I don't know. I'm over it.

But it's obviously a very effective documentary but that that was the one moment where i was like oh no are we what are we doing here you thought they were running like a wendy's commercial before the doc reggie popped up yeah i just i could have used more reggie commentary um it was funny how the 2019 like it was right around 2019 where all of a sudden the takes start getting so much spicier like prior to that you you have to like rely on interviews with his parents to be like everybody called him a twerp and like we're pushing him around and then like 2019 all of a sudden the takes come in and they're like, Steph Curry will never be in another NBA finals.

This guy isn't built for it. This is after he's won three titles. Three titles. Yeah, everyone's coming through and being like, guy's just not built. I don't like his body for the NBA. It's just like, oh my God, you can build a documentary that says anybody is an underdog

at this point from now on. Yeah, without a doubt. I'm sure you could find footage. You could put together like, no one said LeBron James could make it. You could definitely find plenty of footage of Stephen A. Smith being like, I don't think he's...

He ain't a leader! Do you guys remember that one Kobe commercial? It was probably like 0405. Specifically, it was like it was like him reading or it was a voice reading off like headlines that involved him, like basically detractors and doubters and things of that nature. and things of that nature. That's the vibe that I got when I was watching this documentary, because I always foolishly initially used to think like, you're the great, you're like one of the greats to ever do this. Like, why do you care? But it's only now that I realized like, those guys still need that as motivation. And as much as, you know, we see them as, or, you know, maybe not you guys, but I sometimes have seen guys as like superheroes when it comes to the

things that they're able to do, you know, from a physical standpoint, they're still human beings that hear all of those, all of those criticisms and read all of those stories. So I don't know, to me, it was, it was kind of inspirational. It was one of those, like, he's like one of us, like, cause I, you know, it, it, it normalized him as opposed to, uh, you know, being annoying, I guess I could say. Yeah. being annoying, I guess I could say. Yeah. Watching his workouts, you really do get a feeling that you're getting to watch him build

his game brick by brick. And watching his workouts, that's something that people show up hours early for the game to watch. That was something I could have used more workout footage. Just watching him do that thing where he bounces off one foot and does like a step back that covers

five feet and then like nails a three like that was so fun I could watch that for hours like that I could have used more just him casually making like three quarter court shots just because that's a unique superpower that he has did you notice at one point they he was just casually shooting the half court left-handed three-pointers like just just to do it and sinking them like during that workout at one point in the footage he's just like okay let me just do it shoot a couple lefties just ridiculous yeah i think part of the trick of the movie is covering up the fact that this this man has an actual superpower

and has since he was a child like yeah being able to make threes with your left is no joke have you seen his golf swing like it's just the most perfect like it's better looking than any golf swing that you've seen on the pga tour it's so beautiful well i mean that's that's just until chuck comes up sorry what's really crazy, too, and I was talking to my boy about this, and to be clear before I say this, I'm not a LeBron hater. There's a lot of LeBron haters out there. I am not a LeBron hater.

But you could argue that Steph changed the game in a way that LeBron did not. LeBron is amazing, but it's not like he's the first tall point guard. You know, like we've seen magic before. He's an elite athlete to the level that we've never seen.

But when LeBron started playing, I wasn't like, oh, I've never seen this. Like he reminded me of Scottie Pippen. You know what I mean? It was like, okay, big point forward, athlete, two-way player, elite defender. But I've seen that, not on LeBron's level, but I've seen it. Steph, like, there's a reason the NBA has played the way it is now. And it was because the Warriors showed teams what spacing can do. And that's when now everybody has to shoot threes.

Everybody has to clear out. To me, that's traced back to Steph. And like, like oh we have to guard this guy as soon as he crosses half court and then the space that creates everybody else and yeah it's insane that he started off as this like could he even make a team right yeah exactly it's yeah he i feel like he changed the game more than anyone since Luau Cinder. Everything changed. And then Kareem comes in, everybody is being center-oriented,

and then for decades, that's the plan. You got to do that. And he's completely reoriented everything. I will say, as a LeBron lover when he went against detroit early on i forget what year was in his uh career i think it was like second or third year and then like was just getting to the rim on the best defensive team in the league every single time that to me felt like oh we are witnessing something that is different than I've seen anyone do at this level. I've seen people go to the rim and dunk.

I've not seen it be like this consistently. Just he can get to the rim and dunk with both hands every time was one of the craziest things. But it didn't reorient how people played the game and game plan for the next season. That's all I mean. but it didn't reorient how people played the game and like game plan for the next season. Right. And that's all I mean. Like, yeah, I'm, I'm tired of the LeBron hot takes.

The guy has earned our respect. If you're a hoop head. Yeah. You can critique them all you want. That's what it comes with the territory of being an all time. Great. But yeah, enough.

The guy, the guy's unbelievable. But again, I just, and you already said it. I just think step changed the way the game is played it's it's um remarkable it really is yeah if if you think about it i mean we can look at lebron and you know as much as we want we can't duplicate that the belief that comes

with you know like if you're a kid watching the game you might you'll think lebron is incredible you might think these you know the big guys are incredible but all of a sudden you see this little guy whether he's six two or not six two and three quarters or whatever the case may be you see this little guy out there just flinging it up and you know you know dipping in and somehow you'll you'll you'll finding his way like all over the court and it's like it's like hey i could probably do that or i could possibly do that even if i can't so yeah i i totally understand and also the idea that you can add to your game. Like, just because you come into the league because of your one skill, which is shooting. I mean, I remember early in his career, they were like, Steph's not a point guard.

He's a shooting guard. And you watch him now, breaking ankles, no look passes. I mean, he's not going to lead the league in assists, but he doesn't have to. But he's a legitimate point guard. He's a legitimate three-level scorer. And he came into the league as a three-point specialist that's it you know you you can add to your game and it also makes you wonder like some of these guys that come in with more talent it's like is it a work ethic thing because you have access to the same shooting coaches like to me working

on your jumper like guys that come to the nba and never get better at shooting i'm like what have you been doing? Your free throw percentage doesn't increase at all throughout your career. I'm like, how is that even possible? Yeah. At the end of practice, you just shoot 100 free throws or whatever. It's inconceivable, honestly. But I think there is a piece of Steph that is missing from this

that is like... There's a good scene where KD comes to his, the celebration party they throw after, like, he breaks the all-time, you know, it opens with him breaking the all-time three-point shooting record, you know, halfway through his career. And then there's

a party afterwards. KD shows up and he's like, I thought you were this little white kid when I met you like 10 years ago. I walked into a gym and there's this little white kid. But he's making threes from half court at that point. So I really think that there is a... It's not like having touch from 60 feet is a weird thing that we're just like, man, he must have practiced that a lot.

But it does feel like that is something that we don't necessarily think about as like a inherent ability but it is like something that he has and has had like from early on he's gotta have like the most elite

depth perception and hand-eye coordination and that's that people don't talk about that hand-eye coordination. And that's, that people don't talk about that. Hand-eye coordination is a big one. You can be an elite athlete and not have that. Yeah. Well,

that one workout that they showed right before the shooting, where he's doing like the two tennis balls, he's catching the, he's crossing over, catching a tennis ball, throwing it with the other hand, all of that type of stuff where while I get it, like there are people that can do that.

He's doing it. He's doing it with such ease. It, it, it, it there are people that can do that. He's doing it. He's doing it with such ease. It makes sense that he can do these things. And those are the those are the skills that I think, you know, your average fan doesn't notice. Right. It's the same thing with LeBron. It's like you look at LeBron, you see this elite athlete, you know, the quickness, the jumping, the strength. But it's the mental process. Like everyone who's ever played with LeBron, it's like the guy just sees the game differently. I think Steph is, it's one thing to be able to stretch the floor like that. It's another to be able to say, okay, guys have to guard me at half court. So here's what that does to the defense. So I'm thinking two steps ahead.

I'm going to whip it to Draymond and I'm going to cut and I'm going to come out the other side because there's no space that i'm gonna get a shot on this wing like he sees the game and that lebron level i'm a couple steps ahead of all of you and i'm aware of what me being on the floor does yeah i know how to use it and that's like that's like the next step right yeah it's it's cool uh like basically no notes for this documentary though i think people should go check it out uh especially if you're a staff skeptic or even another example if you'll indulge me with another example it's like when shack added passing it's like once shack became aware every time i touched the ball three guys are going to come running at me and shack started

being able to hit those no look passes that you know Arvidas was like that like oh yeah it's just like a different obviously it's like being aware of your impact on the defense and then what to do about that I think is a different evolution yes I agree this documentary is unreal so good yeah hey speaking of things that people should go watch uh on August 17th there's there's this uh special coming out on youtube called don't you know who i am and this isn't me letting you go this is me making up for the fact that i forgot to mention this up top um you have a special coming out and you talk hoops in it is this correct kenny i do yes yes so i grew up playing uh i played aau as a kid i played uh i started on my varsity team in high school,

and then I played two years in college as a walk-on. That's how you become a comedian, which I say in the special. But I opened the special. I tell a story about the time I had to guard Tyler Hansborough one-on-one in a high school basketball tournament. And it went about as well as you would think. And I kind of traced back me starting comedy to that moment um and realizing that i didn't like those guys and uh and so you know

and i i there's like two actual basketball stories that are the book into the special and the middle is kind of me talking about the uh post-athletic drop-off that a lot of athletes feel and experience and i felt like was something that needed to be talked about you know there's a lot of like you know you have this thing and it's all your energy all your focus it gives you all these dopamine hits and then that's just taken away one day and no one prepares you for life after and i think a lot of guys get in a lot of trouble, uh, drugs, alcohol, those things become really kind of fill that void. And I started talking, I started telling these jokes and I really felt like I was striking a nerve because the number of people that were

coming up to me after the show being like, dude, my cousin, my brother, my sister, uh, that, you know, that, yeah, no one, I can't believe no one's talked about that yeah you know and i've lost a couple buddies and um to drugs and uh when you talk to people afterwards it's like yeah i just don't think he ever moved on he never found that next thing so the special is kind of about like putting it to bed and finding your next love and finding a place to put that energy um is basically what it is so that sounds cool man that sounds awesome everybody should go check it out yeah i mean i i need to check it out because i mean i okay i'll be honest after my high school career i was just in a better mood because i was like getting dunked on by dan get zurich less uh so i don't identify at all that was that was my psycho t encounter was I was like, all right, I'm going to body up Dan Gadsirich. And I got bodied.

In fairness to you guys, Dan Gadsirich, if I'm not mistaken, is a legit seven-footer. And Tyler's got to be, what, 6'8"? That must have been a rough day. Exactly. But those were some pretty rough matchups. Yeah. No, I say this in the story, and it's true. It's to the point where I wonder if my coach got paid off.

Because Roy Williams was there watching the stand. And I swear to God, my coach said he made me guard him one-on-one. And he was like, no help. They have shooters on the perimeter. So I literally got put on an island with Psycho T in front of Roy Williams. And I was like, wow, you're serving me up

like a sweet ham. All right. I guess I'm not playing for UNC. Thanks, coach. So, yeah, man. Dan Gadzarek. That's a good one sweet man. All right. Well, I guess I'm not playing for UNC. Cool. Thanks, coach. So, yeah, man. Dan Gadzarek. That's a good one, man. Those are my favorite stories. I love when I find out

people hooped. Like, who's the best guy to dunk on you? Because there's always one. There's always one really bad one. Yeah. I just kept getting up.

I was thinking of the movie Rocky instead of, like, Hoop Dreams. I was just like, you know what? At the end of this, I'm going to be stronger. Instead, my teammates just couldn't make eye contact with me for the rest of the season.

It makes you guys feel better. You guys got dunked on by NBA players. I've been dunked on by guys that went overseas. I've been dunked on by everyone, man. It feels just the same. i want to be clear i've been dunked on by just the nicest dude at the y just like yeah yeah yeah yeah been dunked on by a guy i was like oh my god i've never dunked before that was wild did you see that at the

end of white man he finally catches it yeah it's on you that's right um all right we're gonna take a quick break and kenny when we come back we are going to enter the danger zone the fastest segment in podcasting uh hold on to your butts hold on to your hats if you're wearing them uh because they're gonna be spinning around both your butt and your hat. Uh, we'll be right back. All right, here we go. It's Cam Jordan from New Orleans saints here to tell you it's going down on

season two of my podcast off the edge with me, Cam Jordan. Can't stop it. You know, what's going to happen. Can't stop it. That's right. Catch new episodes every Wednesday, all season long.

That's what you look for in year 14, to do more. No days off. And I'll have my friends, who happen to be some of the NFL's biggest stars, join me on the pod. We'll give you a player's perspective of the biggest storylines, trends, and did that really just happen moments from around the league. And you know we'll have fun doing it. Oh, and I'll have a special guest each month join me to mix it up a little bit. Who is it? None other than

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Hey, this is Mike Wright from the Fantasy Footballers Dynasty Podcast. You heard that right. The Fantasy Footballers have officially entered the Dynasty space. Every week we bring you the same in-depth analysis and entertainment you've come to expect from the fantasy footballers, only now from a dynasty perspective. Maybe you've been living in the dynasty fantasy football space for a while. Well, we're here to take your game to the next level. Maybe you love fantasy football and you've been feeling that itch to jump into the dynasty

format, but it feels a little bit intimidating. No matter where you're coming from, the Fantasy Footballers Dynasty podcast has something for you, and you're going to have a great time listening, I promise. Join me and the rest of the crew every Wednesday for a new episode. Listen to the Fantasy Footballers Dynasty podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. When you think of Mexican culture, you think of avocado, the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Lucha Libre and a WWE superstar. Santos! Santos! Join me as we learn more about the history behind this spectacular sport from its inception in the United States to how it became a global symbol of Mexican culture.

We'll learn more about some of the most iconic heroes in the ring. This is Lucha Libre Behind the Mask. Listen to Lucha Libre Behind the Mask as part of My Cultura Podcast Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you stream podcasts. And we are back and oh, Kenny. Kenny, Kenny, Kenny, Kenny. I don't think he's ready.

You've really stepped in at this time, friend. This is the rapid fire segment. This is where Jabari and I are just firing questions at you like so many tennis balls and basketballs and Steph's workout drill. And you've just got to juggle them. And the other thing we're going to be doing is being really bad at keeping this moving.

And that is not a design flaw. That is because I'm bad at keeping things moving as a podcaster uh so you're just gonna have to keep us on track and uh the segment starts right now um brian could you start the clock please wait wait wait wait i don't i don't i don't think he's gonna hear you i don't think he's gonna hear if you say it like that he seems seems accustomed to it. He's accustomed. Yeah, he is all the way across the room. You want to... Brian, start the clock! Wow. Alright.

Kenny, we're asking each guest which young player will have a breakout season in 2023-24. As we saw with Steph, you know, sometimes that means this is suddenly their team's year. Some of the guys that have been tossed around, Ty Maxey.

I've been noticing a lot of people dropping the Reese, just Ty Maxey. Maybe that's going to turn things around for the Philadelphia 76ers. Cade Cunningham, Al Shingun, Austin Reeves. Is it too early to say Wenbing Yama? Probably Scoot who do we think, who do you think is going to have

a season where all of a sudden this is the only person anybody can talk about I'm going to go with Jalen Green I like what the Rockets did but I think I think giving him Fred VanVleet to did a lot of wow but i think um i think giving him fred van vliet to take a lot of the pressure because his issue has been efficiency and turnovers but otherwise

he's already scoring in the 20s and i think van vliet helps him i know dylan brooks is a knuckle head but he's also a second team all nba player you um and i you know people kind of write off dylan brooks i get. But you know another great defender that was a total knucklehead and then found new life with a new team? Metta World Peace, baby. So sometimes a change of scenery helps guys like that. And I think the attitude that makes Dylan Brooks

a knucklehead is why he's a great defender. I also like Kevin Porter Jr. off the bench. Now the Rockets suddenly, you kind of got better in positions with Van Vliet because you slide him to six man where i think you just let him cook off the bench um the rockets are so bad people don't realize kevin porter jr averaged 25 and five last year yeah i know that because of fantasy basketball like there you go that's then you've got uh you got tari eason now coming off the bench, who I love. Jabari Smith was the star of Summer League, which I know is just Summer League.

But he's got potential to be an all-NBA defender. So you've got Van Vliet, who's a good defender. Brooks, who's a good defender. Smith, who's a good defender. And Shingun. Jalen Green finally has a team around him. And the talent is undeniable. The guy's unreal.

And I think the Rockets are going to surprise people. And I think they're going to make the play-in game, the play-in tournament. I think Jalen Green's going to be a big reason why. It's funny. Jabari and I were at Summer League. And I remember he turned to me and he said, is Jabari Smith Jr. even out there?

This guy stinks. And then he put 30 points hung 30 on Jabari's head, and that is not a story that I just changed from being about me to being about Jabari. Here's the other thing, too. You know Jabari reminds me of

G.I. Nobi. I said that. I said this guy stinks. Don't be no Jabari on Jabari Crime. It was me. Almost like you've done it. That's where I was Jabari crime. It was me. It was me. Almost like you've done it. That's where I was going with it. I was not slandering, but no, I was right there with Jack saying like,

and then all of a sudden he hit four threes in a row and said, shut up to both of us from way up top. We were screaming it from the rafters. I don't know if you heard this instruction at the top. You're supposed to keep us going. So like if we start to deviate or we start to talk about some other stuff, you have to snap us back in the line. Why don't you keep going? Okay, well, excuse me.

So, also, Jack mentioned earlier that we're going to be firing questions at you. I'm more of the pea shooter from Harlem Nights. I'm that third guy with just a little pop, pop. So, here you go. Sure. And I'm more of a pew, pew, pew. There it is. What sound would you make if you were a guy? Pow, pow, pow, pow. Yeah, I had a feeling that was going to be his answer, Jabari.

I wouldn't have even asked the damn question. And then if you really pissed me off, it's more of a clap, clap, clap, clap. Okay, all right. Well, if you could have any player's skill set for a day whose and what skill set would it be um i would want to know what it's like to dunk like zach levine oh yeah i want to know what that feels like i mean i used to be able to dunk a little bit and even that i still dream about it i still dream that i'm flying through the air which i wasn't even flying through the air to know what it is to float like that come on let me let me let me have it one time who are you dunking on nobody ever asked this that's what i want to know who are

you dunking on and it can't be me i'm dunking on uh i'm dunking on rudy gobert and saying that's for covid wow that's what I'm saying. So Jack on my shoulders, Rudy Gobert. That would be fun to dunk on people on people's shoulders and just have them explode apart with your powerful dunk. I'm dunking on you, Miles,

and Jabari in a trench coat. There it is. I definitely have a new answer to this question now that I've watched underrated because i feel like like there are parts in that documentary where they cut together so many like mistakes and like turnovers and missed shots that you like forget what you've watched up to that point you're like does this guy stink is just steph curry did i oh did i make up the past five years where he's like one of the best players in the league?

I think he's holding back on us. I think if I was Steph Curry for a day, I would just try some things out, like throw a football into... I feel like he would be the king of dude-perfect shots, timely ref that all the kids

are still talking about. I feel like he could thread an actual needle with thread from like a football field away. Like he, he's just not revealing that he has a literal superpower because he doesn't want us to know. Anyways, you're supposed to keep me on track.

More questions. All right, come on, Hit me. You can take two players from all of history to create your Mad Boosties edition NBA Jam team, which should be coming.

The league has heard this segment. I got to think that's coming pretty soon. But which two players are you taking? Steph Curry and Shaquille O'Neal. It's the correct answer. I've said this before. That's the right answer. I'm sorry, folks. That's the answer. That's fair. Let's keep this going a little bit. Yeah, let's go. Come on. Ultimate peak.

Prime T-Mac or Prime Paul George? Wow. I'm going to say TMAC because I don't feel like people are as disappointed in him as they are Paul George. There's a lot of unanswered questions about Paul George. There's a lot of like, does he have it? I never heard

anyone suggest that TMAC disappears in the playoffs. I'll say that. I never heard that brought up. And I don't remember TMAC load managing the second round said it about TMAC but that's neither here nor there that's a good point maybe we just didn't expect it from TMAC

maybe the expectations were lower I think it's that thing with like 2019 and that's when the spicy takes come in the documentary it's like all of a sudden you have people being like Steph Curry is bad at basketball. I think like it's harder to be a player or maybe easier because you get so much more motivational material.

But you know what? I will say this. Hold on. I had to think about it for a second. I was a rapid fire. Paul George is also in his peak. He was like a true two way player. And I don't remember TMAC ever being known for his defense.

So Paul George, final answer. Fair enough. I think it's the right answer. We recently, speaking of Steph, we recently got his all-time top five. It was Magic Johnson at point guard, Michael Jordan at shooting guard, Larry Bird at small forward, but then he revised that because he has been on the internet, to Kobeant at small

forward uh tim duncan at power forward and shaquille o'neal at center uh are you making any revisions to that starting five someone's got to be able to shoot a three i mean what are we just going to clog the lane come on give me give me larry what were you like yeah i know we were all the respect for kobe but you got to have somebody stretching the floor, bro. Come on now. Especially in today's game. Yeah, Michael and Kobe are redundant. You put Michael Jordan and then a Michael Jordan cover band on the same floor.

Maybe you haven't been on the internet. No disrespect to Kobe. Oh, all right. Peter mentions. Listen, he played exactly like Mike. The skill sets were redundant. He was unbelievable at it, and I don't blame him. Of course he wanted to be like Mike.

But, you know, I need someone to shoot a three. Jack, do you have a five? I would put Steph out there. I think I'd put Steph out there at two, put MJ at three, or, you know, put Steph at one, put MJ at two, mj at three or you know put steph at one put mj at two uh and yeah maybe stuff steph at one mj to lebron at three the lebron lebron needs to be out there man yeah no disrespect

to magic but there's your point forward yeah you know and that's gonna help we're good here making yeah we're solid and i might go dream at center um i like it yeah yeah hakeem man and just which tim duncan just came up i'm so excited that wendy went to san antonio and tim duncan is on the staff is just going to teach wendy to be seven to tim duncan and you can already shoot it's just as preposterous what's about to happen. It's going to be nasty. It's going to be so fun. Alright, keeping it going. Last question? Sure. This is the most important one. Hit me. Jack or Jabari?

Ooh. Okay, so I know a little bit. Alright, what'd you play, Jabari? You're 5'10". You're a point guard? I was a 5'10". Point power forward. Okay, so you're like a 5'10 draymond you're gonna give me a little bit of everything basically jack what do you bring to the table i was like a 6'1 draymond couldn't shoot worth shit but would defend and let dan

gedzer dunk on me until he was exhausted i was like rope-a-doping him i was like surely he's gonna get tired of dunking on me. That's not in no way an energizing thing, right? Yeah, maybe if I go fetal position, he'll feel bad for me. Have I sold myself? Yeah. Jabari, how's the jumper? Smooth?

My jumper's nice. That's one thing I can tell you. That's one thing I can say. I'm taking Jabari, baby. I need shooting. What are you talking about? I need shooting on this team, bro. You don't want my rickety-ass jumper?

But I play defense and I always make the right pass. He's real gritty. Even if you can't shoot, I want guys on my team that say they can shoot. I want delusional confidence. I want you coming in going 0 for 10 and being like,

yo, pass me the ball, bro. I'm open. Hit me. I'm trying to go 0 for 19. Ball, ball, ball, ball, ball. I'm trying to go 0 for 19. Yeah. I got to get Zurch where I want him.

Hit me at the ball. Right there. My free throw routine before, I would shrug my shoulders and be like, I'm not going to even make it anyways. I did that before every free throw. That was just... I actually believe that you did that. That's what, what's the fucking point?

Oh, sorry. Yeah. Um, anyways, Kenny DeForest, uh, truly a pleasure. We've been excited to have you on boosties for a long time and you did not disappoint, sir. Uh, we'll have to have you back on again soon. Uh, where can people see you uh find you follow you all that good stuff so i'm on uh i'm on instagram i prefer instagram i just feel

like if you're trying to follow an artist it's kind of the most like you're actually going to see me promoting my shows um i do have a tiktok i post a lot of videos there the special comes out the 17th of august and i'm going to do a live stream on YouTube, like a live release on YouTube where you can watch it with me and comment, ask questions and I'll be on, I'll be answering those. So, um, that link is not quite live yet, but once it is the best way to see that we'll be on Instagram. I might be back on Twitter one day. We'll see. But for now, I'm just trying to focus my efforts on those couple um so that i can still have some energy to like write jokes and stuff yeah not just on the on my phone all day you know what i'm saying yeah i i don't know what your problem is with twitter uh we love it here at

mad boosties uh i think this guy elon is killing it uh loving destroying literally destroying literally destroying it all right uh you can find me on twitter at jack underscore o'brien and on threads where I am I'm not very active on twitter I'm even less active on threads but I am there at jack underscore o underscore brian

Jabari where can people find you you can find me of course on twitter Jabari Davis NBA you can find Miles of course on the twitter uh jabari davis nba you can find miles of course at at miles of gray not sure about his threads yeah he's there no both places here we are all right that is gonna do it for this episode of mad boosties we are back next week to talk more nba and we will talk to y'all then bye goodbye Goodbye. Goodbye. Peace. Join us for the new podcast, Lucha Libre Behind the Mask, a 12-episode podcast in both English and Spanish about the history and cultural richness of Lucha Libre. And I'm your host, Santos Escobar, emperor of Lucha Libre and a WWE superstar.

Listen to Lucha Libre Behind the Mask on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you stream podcasts. Do you ever wonder where your favorite foods come from? Like what's the history behind bacon-wrapped hot dogs? Hi, I'm Eva Longoria. Hi, I'm Maite Gomez-Rejon. Our podcast, Hungry for History, is back. And this season, we're taking an even bigger bite out of the most delicious food and its history.

Saying that the most popular cocktail is the margarita, followed by the mojito from Cuba, and the piña colada from Puerto Rico. Listen to Hungry for History on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What happens when a professional football player's career ends, and the applause fades, and the screaming fans move on? I am going to share my journey of how I went from Christianity to now a Hebrew Israelite. For some former NFL players, a new faith provides answers. You mix homesteading with guns and church.

Voila! You got straightway. They try to save everybody. Listen to Spiraled on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.